My great grandparents, Bernard Petermann and Sophie Steuer, came from Oldenburg, Germany. They immigrated to the United States circa 1882. Their first stop in this country was in the Red Hook Section of Brooklyn, New York where they were living at 282 Conover Street when their son, Christian August Petermann, was born on April 6, 1883. The Petermanns moved to Hoboken, New Jersey by July 1884, when their son, Wilhelm, was born.

Tom's great grandparents, Fritz Kettler and Johanna Peters, immigrated from Friesland and Norway circa 1882. Their first stop in this country was the Red Hook Section of Brooklyn, New York, where their daughter, Marie Sophia, was born at 206 Richard St. on February 21, 1886 and their daughter, Gertrude Friderike, was born at 87 Ferris St. on April 11, 1889. They moved to Hoboken, New Jersey by November 29, 1891 when their son, Frederick, was born.

Red Hook, a relatively small neighborhood, is only four blocks wide in the section where the Petermanns and Kettlers lived. The streets run: Ferris, Conover, Van Brunt and Richard.

The Petermanns had four children: Johann DOB circa 1879, Christian DOB 1883, Meta, DOB 1886, and Annie, DOB 1887.

The Kettlers had four children: Marie DOB 1886, Gertrude DOB 1889, Frederick DOB 1891 and Henry DOB 1894.

The Petermanns and the Kettlers lived in the German section of Hoboken. While this section was bigger than Red Hook, Brooklyn, and I don't have overlapping dates for these two families, they were never listed more than a few blocks apart.

Both fathers, Bernard Petermann and Fritz Kettler, worked on the docks.

Did the Petermanns and the Kettlers know each other, either in Brooklyn or Hoboken?

The Petermann and Blanck Families In Hoboken

The family of Tom's great grandfather, Henry Blanck, and the family of my great grandfather, Bernhard Petermann, lived on the same block in Hoboken in 1887. The block was shorter than most blocks in Hoboken because it was cut into at an angle by Newark Avenue. This area is now been covered by the Erie Lackawanna railroad tracks.

The Blancks lived at 43 Willow from 1880 until at least 1887. In 1887 the Blancks had 5 children: Minnie, age 15, John, age 12, Herman, age 10, Henry, age 5, and Louis, born May 9, 1887.

The Petermans lived at 65 Willow from 1886 to at least 1891. The Petermanns had four children: Johann, age 8, Christian, 5 years, Meta, age 1, and Annie, born October 24, 1887.

Both fathers were around the same age, 39/40, but Minnie Erxmeyer Blanck was 11 years older than Sophie Steuer Petermann.

Did the Petermanns and the Blancks know each other when they lived on Willow Avenue in Hoboken?

It is highly likely that the boys, Johann Peterman, age 8, Christian Petermann, age 5, Herman Blanck age 10 and Henry Blanck, age 5, played on the street or went to school together.

Percy Land, Gertrude Kettler, John Blanck, Herman Blanck, and Louis Blanck In Hoboken

In 1906, my grandfather, Percy Land (born 1885) lived at 328 Hudson Street (between 3rd Street and 4th Street), and worked as a carpenter in Hoboken.

In 1907, Tom's grandmother, Gertrude Kettler (born 1889) lived at 253 Third Street, four short blocks away from where Percy Land lived in 1906. I do not know how long either of them stayed at these addresses.

Tom's grandfather, Louie Blanck, and his brothers all lived and worked in Hoboken:

• John Blanck, born 1875, was a lumberman in a lumber yard.
• Herman Blanck, born 1877, was a carpenter.
• Louis Blanck, born 1887, was a driver and a lumberman.

Did either Gertrude Kettler or one of the Blanck brother know Percy Land?